[Lands of the Slave and the Free by Henry A. Murray]@TWC D-Link book
Lands of the Slave and the Free

CHAPTER VII
13/15

To the one, people go before dinner; to the other, after.
A friend of mine having offered me a feed, and a seat behind a pair of three-minuters, the offer was too good to be refused.

The operation of getting into one of these four-wheel waggons, looks perplexing enough, as the only rest for the feet, which appears, is the cap of the axle; but, upon pulling the horses' heads into the middle of the street, and thus locking the fore-wheels, a stop is discovered, which renders the process easy.

It is difficult to say which is the more remarkable, the lightness of the waggon, or the lightness of the harness; either is sufficient to give a nervous feeling of insufficiency to a stranger who trusts himself to them for the first time; but experience proves both their sufficiency and their advantage.

In due time, we reached the outer limits of the town; struggling competitors soon appeared, and, in spite of dust as plentiful as a plague of locusts, every challenge was accepted; a fair pass once made, the victor was satisfied, and resumed a more moderate pace.

We had already given one or two the go-by, when we heard a clattering of hoofs close behind us, and the well-known cry, "G'lang." My friend let out his three-minuters, but ere they reached their speed, the foe was well on our bow, and there he kept, bidding us defiance.


<<Back  Index  Next>>

D-Link book Top

TWC mobile books